Talensi MP Meets Speaker On His Status

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Talensi in the Upper East Region, Robert Nachinab Doameng Mosore, who has been enskined the paramount chief of Tongo, yesterday met the speaker and the leadership of parliament over his new status and whether he would still be able to represent the people of Talensi in parliament.

The MP, since his enskinment in early May, has absented himself from parliament, prompting the majority chief whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, to raise the issue on the floor about a week ago asking the speaker to declare the seat vacant in line with the Standing Orders of the House and also in reference to the Constitution which debars chiefs from participating in active party politics.

At the time the majority chief whip raised the issue, the speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho, was outside the country on an official duty and in his stead was the first deputy speaker, Ebo Barton Odro, who also supported the call by the majority for the seat to be declared vacant, but said that a decision would have to ultimately come from the speaker when he returns from his official trip.

Mr Doe Adjaho re-visited the issue last Friday when he was presiding and declared that he would be making his pronouncement on the ‘absenteeism’ of the Talensi MP this week if he (MP) failed to meet him and explain the cause of his absenteeism to him.

Based on the declaration, the MP met the speaker yesterday in his traditional regalia accompanied by some subjects.

The meeting was held behind closed doors with the deputy minority leader, Dominic Nitiwul, leading the minority delegation.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the minority NPP was ready to ‘fight’ for the Talensi MP using all legal means.

When the meeting was being called the deputy minority leader was seen clutching a copy of the 1992 Constitution and the Chieftaincy Act with NPP MP for Effutu, Alex Afenyo-Markin, a legal practitioner, being part of the minority group that met with the speaker and the parliamentary leadership.

As at the time of writing this report, the leadership and the minority group, with the MP for Talensi, were still locked up in the meeting.